East Butler girls defeat Humphrey in D-1 semifinals
Wednesday, March 10, 2010 - 4:40 pm
Banner-Press Sports Editor
It's not a gimmick if it works.
East Butler's triangle-and-two defense against Humphrey standouts Leann Osten and Alyssa Frauendorfer helped the second-ranked Tigers take a 52-47 win over the fourth-ranked
Bulldogs in the semifinals of the Class D-1 State Tournament at Pershing Center Friday morning.
Bulldogs in the semifinals of the Class D-1 State Tournament at Pershing Center Friday morning.
"It's an incredible feeling," East Butler junior Sammi Rech said. "We thought that we could win if we got here and that's what we're doing. It feels so good to win with all the fans here. It's a great atmosphere."
"Chelsea (Komenda) and Kylee (Sisel) did a tremendous job defensively," East Butler Coach Gerry Reinsch said. "I told them before the game that the defense rested on their shoulders.
They played awfully well and the rest of the girls picked up from there."
"We've seen that triangle-and-two a lot," Humphrey Coach Blake Anderson said. "We've been able to attack it before. The thing is that the way East Butler play, it wears on you. We had some girls step up for Leann, but we just couldn't make enough shots overall.
Frauendorfer finished with 18 points, right at her average. Osten, who averaged 15. 5 points per game, was held to six points on 2-of-15 shooting.
The other big story for East Butler was how the team picked up the slack when leading scorer Marissa Bongers struggled in the first half.
Averaging 24 points per game coming in, Bongers was held to four points on 2-of-11 shooting in the first half.
"I knew they'd be paying attention to me after I scored 34 yesterday. The girls all picked me up. They hit some big threes, which is awesome. That made the game for us," Bongers said.
The Tigers still held a 23-21 halftime lead, though, as Chelsea Komenda, Kylee Sisel and Cassie Aerts all hit outside shots.
"They all stepped up to hit some big shots for us," Reinsch said. "Chelsea hit three threes, just like she did against Aquinas. That's two big games we don't win if she doesn't hit those threes."
"I've been working all season on those shots. I've been staying at the end of practice and
"Fouls hurt us. We had six or seven fouls in the first quarter, so we couldn't go man, or else they'd shot 30 free throws like they did yesterday," Anderson said. "We had to kind of pack it in against them, but we packed it in a little too much. We didn't get into the passing lanes at times and they hurt us."
Komenda finished with a season-high 11 points, hitting a trio of three-pointers in the contest.
"I told all of our perimeter players that they've been working on their outside shot all season long. This is the point where it can all pay off. Shoot that shot like you're going to bury it. We shot with confidence," Reinsch said.
The game followed some similarities to the Tigers' opening round win over Howells.
First there was the same slow start, as East Butler shot missed 15 out of 17 shots in the first quarter.
Second, there was the solid defense that kept the Tigers in the game, as they only trailed 8-7 after the first quarter.
Third, and most crucial, was how the Tigers responded to an opposition run in the third quarter.
Tara Wemhoff hit a pair of free throws. Frauendorfer and Osten hit layups before Wemhoff hit a jumper to cap an 8-0 run that tied the teams at 33-all with 2:07 to go in the third.
Freshman Donnita Helman hit a jumper from the free throw line 23 seconds later.
Helman has started all season with a lineup that featured four senior starters when healthy.
She didn't miss a beat when asked what she'd learned from those seniors
"Teamwork. We all get the ball to each other and pick each other up. We work together so well. They've been an inspiration," she said.
Marissa Bongers stole the ball on an inbounds play and raised downcourt for a three-point play with 1:23 left in the third.
Bongers hit two shots in the first minute of the fourth quarter to increase the lead to 42-35.
Alex Wallin's three-pointer pulled the Bulldogs within 4:25 left, but Bongers would score seven points in an 9-2 run that put the Tigers up by 51-40 with 1:03 remaining.
Bongers finished the game with 21 points after scoring 17 in the second half.
"She's a great player. She's going to get her points. Nobody's going to be able to shut her down completely. What makes her so tough is how she hits the offensive boards. She hurt us with putbacks," Anderson said.
The basket that started that run was a sidelines inbounds play on a give-and-go where the senior got a wide-open layup.
"That's a play we put in years ago," Reinsch said. "I was watching Nebraska play Michigan State and Michigan State ran the play for (future NBA player) Steve Smith and he got a wide open dunk. We've used it our last three games and gotten a layup each time out of it. It's a play
we save for when we really need it and we needed it today."
The Tigers struggled at the foul line in the last minute to open the door for the Bulldogs.
A Frauendorfer three-pointer, followed by a pair of Megan Kallweit free throws had them within 52-47 with 14.8 seconds left.
Bongers missed a pair of free throws, but Sisel got the offensive rebound on the held ball with 13.2 seconds left.
Komenda would hit a free throw with eight seconds left to clinch the game as both teams would empty their benches.
The victory resulted in East Butler's first trip to a state title game since 1988.
"This is great for the girls, but this is for the program, too, for all the great players we've had," Reinsch said. "We've had a lot of great players who never got the chance to get this far, but they did a lot for the program and helped give us something to shoot for."
While the Tigers' seniors are either two- or three-year starters, players like Helman had to watch recent teams. Her cousin, Hannah, is one of the tip five scorers in program history and another cousin, Heather, was last year's starting point guard.
"I watched my cousins all the time. It was my dream to be here in the state championship. Now, we're going to the championship game. I can't believe it," she said.
One player enjoying the chance to compete again was junior guard Lindsey Dobesh, who missed 10 games with a stress fracture in one of her feet.
"It's so exciting. The doctors told me I could be back in time for the district final. I was able to come back in play in that game. To be able to play at state, it's an awesome experience," she said.
Bongers added eight rebounds and five steals to go with her 21 points. Helman had six rebounds and five assists. Sisel also had six rebounds.
Frauendorfer finished with 10 rebounds and three steals for the Bulldogs. Wallin had five assists and four steals. Osten had five rebounds and four assists. Wemhoff and Klassen also had five rebounds each. Kallweit scored eight points.
Photo caption:
HAPPY HAPPY JOY JOY – East Butler players erupt off the bench at the end of the team’s 53-47 victory over Humphrey in the Class D-1 semifinals at Pershing Center Friday morning. The jubilant team members are, from left – Michaela Janak (50), Marissa Bongers, Chelsea Komenda (10), Donnita Helman, Kylee Sisel.
